Damian Folch M.D PROMISES Damian Folch M.D May 8th, 2015

●Dr. Folch - family practice physician in solo practice in Chelmsford Massachusetts. ●Staff participate in the AHRQ sponsored PROMISES project for 15 months during

Learning Objectives: As a result of participating in this activity, learners will be able to: Describe the role of the physician leader in practice improvement Explain the importance of involving practice staff in practice improvement projects Explain the value of small tests of change for practice improvement Provide case examples of practice improvement projects, including reliable follow-up of referrals and insuring patient’s needs are addressed during the visit.

Disclosure Statement The Presenter and Content Developers have no significant financial interest/arrangement with any organization(s) that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest with the subject matter of the presentation.

Improvement Projects ●Closed over 4,500 “open loops” diabetes.nl/tl_files/cdn_marketshare/uk140509closingtheloop.png

Improvement Projects ●Worked on increasing colorectal cancer screening rates =sii9J4iNI9pZkL9DlhpLFme7cEQ%3D

Patients are Safer I don’t know if you know… Patient that did FOBT She was POSITIVE colonoscopy performed They found an ADENOMA (removed and CURED) ONCE AGAIN…. 62 year old Portuguese guy (did not want a colonoscopy) I convinced him to do a FOBT - big tumor growing, still within the polyp - CURED result of us becoming more focused on whatever we had to do in terms of screening. (Full Plate)

62 year old male after successful partial resection of the colon Dr. Folch

Improvement Projects ●Worked on using patient agenda to solicit patient feedback content/uploads/2014/09/patient_survey_for_acupuncturist_by_acupatient.jpg

Improvement Projects ●Applied Inquiry Technique - asking patients “what else?”

Gems from PROMISES ●The importance of: o Testing small o Teamwork: involving your staff o Community Learning Sessions: you are not alone, learn from and with each other o Coaches: provides rhythm to keep on track

Advice to Mt. Auburn Practices 1.Create a culture of Patient Safety 2.Begin staff meetings asking if there are any Patient Safety Issues 3.Make safety a priority in the office - lead by example 4.Empower your staff to identify and communicate to you any patient safety issues 5.Discuss in detail with the staff when we make a mistake

My plans for the future 1.Ask patients to identify patient safety issues in my office 2.Have a patient participate in a staff meeting about patient safety issues 3.Have a suggestions box

Questions?